


Nishiki no mai

by Ki_no_Shirayuki



Category: Gintama
Genre: Character Study, Crafts, Gen, Japanese Culture, Kimono, POV Second Person, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive, Serious, Symbolism, Tailoring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2018-09-30 10:32:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10161218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ki_no_Shirayuki/pseuds/Ki_no_Shirayuki
Summary: Formerly "Wafuku"You, a gifted kimono maker, received an unusual order.Comes with glossary of Japanese terms.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Not an xReader fic.

The kimono was one of its kind, and you, one of the most gifted and well-known craftsmen of the trade in Edo, had the honor of being the one commissioned to make such a piece of clothing. It wasn't the most beautiful work you had ever made, but it surely was the most _lavish,_ and you thought it belonged on a Noh stage rather than in someone's everyday closet.

The order was delivered to you by mail. "I would like a male yukata of deepest violet." it said, "It is the color of death, and I would like my garment to constantly remind me of my sole purpose in life, of what this world really is: nothing but death and destruction.

I would also like it decorated via _surihaku_ method, preferably in a pattern of golden butterflies — _golden,_ not silver. Golden butterflies are a symbol of death, and their gleaming in the distance would have my enemies know who they're against.

And don't be afraid to use the best materials you have to offer. I want to see the finest, smoothest silk and as many golden butterflies as possible. Be extra lavish, even though I am wearing the garment into battle. It is meant to be worn to shreds, the butterflies meant to flake off anyway, as how every beautiful thing in this world will eventually become: nothing but ashes."

Saying it was a strange request would be a wild understatement; in fact, you felt _uneasy_ reading the letter. But, after weeks of hard work, the kimono was finished. It was written in the letter that the commissioner would not come to your workshop to pick up the garment, but you would deliver it to the sender's address where he would see you in person. Folding the robe neatly before wrapping it along with a length of _koshihimo_ and an _obi_ sash in a _furoshiki_ cloth, you took one final look at the letter to see exactly who the commissioner was.

_Takasugi Shinsuke._

Your heart raced as you made for the door. Just what kind of man was he? You couldn't wait to see him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand you better be careful.  
> "Golden, not silver…" Geddit? XD
> 
>  **Glossary:**  
>  _Surihaku_ (摺箔): method of decorating fabric by applying metal foil onto its surface.  
>  _Koshihimo_ (腰紐): lit. "hip string"; string used to secure the kimono.  
>  _Obi_ (帯): kimono sash. Does NOT secure the kimono.  
>  _Furoshiki_ (風呂敷): square cloth used for wrapping (i.e. gifts), or the technique of wrapping itself.


	2. All That is Gold Does Not Glitter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a sequel to the previous chapter. This takes place _in the middle_ of it.

You didn't see your coworkers' faces, but you could clearly tell they were pissed off. How could they not, when your kimono workshop whose business was already dwindling thanks to the Amanto whose advanced technology, eye-catching fashion and competitive prices attracted the vast majority of young people who were more often than not unable to afford meticulously crafted traditional clothes that were "not cute enough" anyway was now faced with the danger of having its reputation further destroyed by this _one_ customer. Hell must have befallen you since the day that woman set foot in your workshop. She claimed to have hailed from Kyoto and never ceased comparing your painstakingly crafted _yuzen_ garments to those donned by geisha in the Gion district every time she sent them back. The bushes of camellia on this kimono weren't red enough. The white crane feathers on that one weren't subtle enough. The blue of these hydrangeas made her feel sick. You call that chrysanthemum yellow, I call it piss-colored, etc. No wonder some of your co-workers had threatened to punch her jaws off next time she showed up. But you endured. Every single of her complaints, every single time she praised the excellence of Kyoto craftsmen while expressing her disdain over how "hopeless" those of Edo were. You simply told her that you would work harder and immediately picked up the brush and piping bag of dye-resistant paste, working on a new garment all over again.

Every worker was going hungry, and you could not afford tarnishing your workshop's reputation any further.

And so, as you worked on this new order after that damned woman refused your latest garment _again_ , you hoped that this customer wouldn't be so hard to please. You desperately wished as you removed the stencil from the surface of the violet silk, leaving the paste you just applied in a pattern of butterflies before pressing gold leaves — each one worth a whole month of food for your entire family — onto it, that it would go right this time.

_That Takasugi better not refuse this one._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Glossary:**  
>  _Yūzen_ (友禅): A technique of dyeing in which dye-resistant paste is applied onto a pattern's border, after which the pattern is then colored. The garment is then washed to remove the paste and excess dye, which leaves a colorful pattern with characteristic white borders.


End file.
